Story fails to uncover much glory

I once predicted that state Rep. John Fresolo would someday put his foot in it. I was partly right, but his current woes may involve a different part of his anatomy.

Something is going on with the Worcester Democrat, but no one is talking except the people who know nothing about it, namely, members of the media, who typically respond to even the hint of a political sex scandal with the same studied nonchalance exhibited by radical tea party members when someone compliments the president.

Media outlets were in full fettle last week, with Worcester Magazine reporting that Fresolo would resign within 48 hours, and WTAG’s Jordan Levy telling his listeners that Fresolo is under probe for pulling an Anthony Weiner with a female aide, and Boston reporter Michele McPhee asking why male legislators are so fond of photographing their, er, staffs, which happens to be a very good question regardless of its relevance to Fresolo’s predicament.

What we know for sure is that House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has directed the House Ethics Committee to investigate “serious allegations” of misconduct made by an aide against a House member. We know that the member is Fresolo for several reasons, partly because it was bound to happen to a politician who once managed to lock himself inside a cemetery, and partly because a Telegram reporter went to his house Thursday night and Fresolo immediately announced he was not resigning before he was even asked.

He also said he was advised by his lawyer not to talk, and it’s not as though the reporter was inquiring about his NCAA bracket picks.

But the rumors are flying and have been reported with the same careful scrutiny employed by the sort of tabloids that break stories about alien babies in Arkansas. Initial accounts from here to Boston claimed that Fresolo sent inappropriate photos of himself to a female staffer. Then we heard reports that the details weren’t as damning, that Fresolo may have had some questionable pictures on his cellphone, not knowing that they were linked to his Statehouse email computer because he’s a Luddite, and that the poor staffer stumbled upon them while going through his emails.

But whatever happened is considered serious enough to investigate, and that’s saying a lot for the Statehouse.

In the meantime, this story is dubbed so salacious that it’s actually appeared across the pond, in Great Britain. And with all due respect to the Telegram commenter who posted, “Didn’t take long for the Brits to cover it thousands of miles away, while the American media snoozes,” allow me to note that the Daily Mail’s story is based on local reports and blogs, like a media echo chamber.

Indeed, it’s getting a bit crazy, so much so that on Friday I was asked to discuss the matter on both Fox News and Channel 4, even though I don’t know a thing (You know reporters are flailing when they resort to interviewing each other). But it’s not like I haven’t tried.

On Friday, I squeezed countless sources and basically threatened the lives of their children if they didn’t spill the beans. Some knew nothing, some had only secondhand information, and some pretended to know more than they did because they want the worst to be true.

While Fresolo remains popular within the 16th district for his constituent services, he’s not the most-admired legislator on Beacon Hill or even within local political circles, where he’s considered something of an opportunistic lightweight. But whether this story will eventually include depictions of naked or half-naked torsos, the media haven’t clothed themselves in glory while trying to break it.